


my heart is torn (between the two of you)

by Aziraphales (arka_r)



Category: Good Omens (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Medieval, Dragon!Crowley (Good Omens), Genderfluid Crowley (Good Omens), Knight!Gabriel (Good Omens), M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, POV Gabriel (Good Omens), Priest!Aziraphale (Good Omens), Protective Aziraphale (Good Omens), Protective Crowley (Good Omens), Protective Gabriel (Good Omens), Shapeshifter!Crowley (Good Omens), Threesome - M/M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-16
Updated: 2019-10-18
Packaged: 2020-12-17 15:07:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21056408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arka_r/pseuds/Aziraphales
Summary: Gabriel, a famous monster slayer, is tasked by the queen to kill a dragon that's been terrorizing a small town. However, as he goes deeper into the quest, he quickly realizes the town not only has a dragon problem, but also something far more sinister which lurks underneath.Background ships: Anathema/Newt, Michael/Uriel, Hastur/Ligur





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> title is from Rick James '1, 2, 3 (You, Her and Me)
> 
> Baby, it's no secret  
What I want to do  
My heart is torn between the two of you  
(I want to share my love with you together)

Frostford was a small town known for its iron mines. Located twenty days eastward from Skystead, it sat close to the Five Pillars Mountains. 

Gabriel thought it wouldn’t be hard to reach it on horseback. After all, the two places were connected by the Kingsroad and traders traversed the path all the time — but then again he had always been an optimist.

You see, Frostford was having a crisis of some sort. Based on reports and eyewitnesses, mostly traders who came all the way from Frostford, a dragon had been seen terrorizing the small town, burning down houses and kidnapping people. The last part, Gabriel was unsure if it was true — people had penchant for dramatics, after all. Why kidnap people when you could kidnap cattles? Wouldn’t a dragon find the latter more appetizing?

After three failed attempts to remove the dragon from the area, Queen Michael sent Gabriel for the quest. He was one of the finest knights in the Kingdom of Eden, if he wanted to brag, and he was actually rather experienced at slaying dragons and other beasts. He was free to bring anyone along with him; so he brought a couple of mercenaries he hired as companions. 

His mission? To slay the beast and bring back its head to the Queen.

Finally, after twenty days, he and his little band of mercenaries arrived at Frostford. Now that he saw it with his own eyes, it was clear that the small town had a dragon problem. The stone wall that protected the town was scorched in several places, and there were claw marks all over the gate. It was as if something monstrous was attempting to get in.

And get in it did. Once Gabriel was inside, he saw how bad it was in the town. Destroyed buildings were scattered left and right. Some people eyed Gabriel’s group with a certain wariness, but the rest looked too weary to even muster a glare. No one was smiling, no one was laughing. No children ran on the streets. It was a dreary sight indeed.

They reached the mayor’s house and Gabriel dismounted to greet him. The mayor was a plump man with balding head — he had golden incisor which glinted when he smiled awkwardly at Gabriel and his companions.

“Welcome to Frostford, Lord Gabriel and companions. I am Sandalphon, the mayor of this small town”, the mayor greeted. “We are honored to welcome you.”

“The pleasure is ours, Mayor Sandalphon”, Gabriel shook the man’s hand. “How long has the dragon been attacking the town?”

“Two months, now. We suspected it has made a lair on the mountains, where the iron mines are”, the mayor replied. “Miners fear to go to the mines, and it stalls our ore production.”

“I have heard rumors that the dragon has taken some of your people”, Gabriel said, concerned. 

“That would be Maestro Aziraphale”, Mayor Sandalphon returned. “The blasted dragon attacked the temple. When we cleaned up the rubble, we couldn’t find him anywhere. Poor man, he was well-loved in our town too. At this point, perhaps it would be best we prepare for his funeral.”

“Is he the only one who was taken?” Gabriel asked.

“Yeup. That happened the first time the dragon attacked”, Mayor Sandalphon answered. “It’s only taken our cattle since then.”

“Now that’s unusual”, Gabriel said before he could stop himself.

“Unusual… how?” the Mayor sounded worried.

“Dragons do not discriminate”, Gabriel told the Mayor. “If this dragon has only taken a person exactly one time and not the other time, it means it is intelligent, which could be a problem in itself. Or, it may not be a dragon at all.”

“What… what does that mean?” Mayor Sandalphon asked, worried.

“It means we might not have a dragon problem in our hand, but a shapeshifter problem”, Gabriel answered.

“But… I thought shapeshifters are not real”, the Mayor said, frowning.

“Oh they are very real, alright”, Gabriel returned. Suddenly, the scar on the left side of his body twinged with pain at the memory. He’d faced a shapeshifter exactly once, and he supposed he was lucky to come out of that particular fight alive.

They didn’t speak anymore as they entered the town hall. People bustled around, preparing for… something, Gabriel didn’t know what.

“We’ve prepared a feast to welcome you and your companions, Lord Gabriel”, the Mayor said. “It’s not Skystead, but we hope it’s up to your standard.”

Gabriel resisted the urge to groan. He’d hoped that this job would be an easy ‘get in, kill the dragon, and get out’, and that he’d be spared from more feasts — he had been invited enough for several lifetimes, after all. 

But then he remembered the dreary sight he saw when entering the town, and thought that perhaps a feast was necessary. It was good for morale, especially for the townsfolk. He was, after all, going to rid the town of their dragon problem. Hopefully, it would happen soon enough, and the townsfolk could return to their peaceful life once again.

Several hours later, the feast was in full swing. Though it was clear that Mayor Sandalphon was trying his best, the feast was rather modest compared to the feasts Gabriel had attended back in Skystead. It was a small town, and plagued by a dragon/shapeshifter on top of it. It was understandable that they couldn’t spare more food for the feast.

Gabriel allowed his companions to enjoy the feast. A few cups of wine wouldn’t hurt as long as they could hold their weapons properly came next day. Even Gabriel allowed himself to a cup of wine. It was rather strong and just a tad too sweet for his taste, but it wasn’t bad.

“Not enjoying the feast, My Lord?” a voice came from his left. Gabriel turned and found a young woman standing by his side, a cup of wine in her hand.

“I’d prefer to stay focused, especially if I’m going dragon-hunting tomorrow, Miss…?” Gabriel raised his eyebrow to the young woman.

“Mrs. Anathema Device-Pulsifer”, the young woman curtsied slightly. “I’m the town’s occult consultant.”

Ah. A witch, then. A temple-sanctioned one, but still a witch. Gabriel eyed her warily, but he smiled politely at her. 

“Pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Device-Pulsifer”, he returned with a nod of his head. “Can you tell me more about the dragon?”

“It’s a great black beast as big as three houses, with wingspan as wide as it is long”, Mrs. Device-Pulsifer answered. “But I don’t think you’re looking for physical description?”

“I don’t mind physical description. After all, I need to know if I’m going to need a bigger sword to cleave its neck”, Gabriel joked, and the witch laughed, if a bit awkwardly.

“I’m sure you’ve heard from the Mayor that the dragon has only taken Maestro Aziraphale and no one else”, Mrs. Device-Pulsifer said. “Now I have never seen dragons in my life before, but even I know that is rather odd, don’t you think?”

“That’s indeed weird”, Gabriel returned. “Either the dragon is highly intelligent, which is another problem entirely, or we’re not actually dealing with a dragon.”

“Oh? Do tell”, Mrs. Device-Pulsifer perked up in interest.

Gabriel tapped his fingers on the table, before eventually returning, “Have you ever heard about shapeshifters?”

“Are they actually real?” Mrs. Device-Pulsifer asked. “I’ve only heard exaggerated rumors from drunk traveling traders. I never thought they’re actually real.”

“They’re very real, alright. Very rare, but real”, Gabriel said. “I fought one, two years ago.”

“Fought, not kill?” Mrs. Device-Pulsifer teased with a small smile.

“I was, ah… caught off-guard. He managed to injure me before fleeing into the night”, Gabriel said with a wince. “If what we’re facing is indeed a shapeshifter, they must have visited the town at some point before the dragon came to attack. Have you seen an outsider that catches your eye?”

“This is Frostford, we have traders coming from all over Eden”, Mrs. Device-Pulsifer answered with a small shrug. “But I don’t get out much. You’ll probably have a better luck asking around at our taverns.”

Ah, of course. As a witch, she probably spent the majority of her time brewing potions for the townsfolk.

“I will do that first thing in the morning”, Gabriel nodded. “Thank you for your insight, Mrs. Device-Pulsifer. It has been most helpful.”

“As long as you get rid of that damn dragon, I’m always happy to help”, Mrs. Device-Pulsifer smiled. “It’s been causing bad luck in the air, and it’s affecting my potion making.”

“I’ll do my best”, Gabriel said, returning her smile.

The feast lasted well into the night, but halfway through, Gabriel excused himself to have a proper rest. A page then showed Gabriel and his companions where they would be staying on Frostford — a quaint tavern located near the town wall with a very good scenery to the pine forest that lined the foothill. The page told him the tavern was rather popular amongst visiting traders, especially the richer ones.

Once he was properly alone, Gabriel took off his winter armor piece by piece, resting them in the chest he brought. Then, he laid down on the bed and stared out of the window across the room. The waxing moon and some clouds hung lazily on the sky.

Tomorrow would be an exciting day, was the last thought he had before sleep claimed him.

— 

The next morning found Gabriel questioning the bartender downstairs, to check if he had ever seen someone that attracted his attention.

“Hmmm, that’s rather hard to say”, the bartender answered. “People from all over Eden came to this city before the whole business with the dragon started. People from Skystead particularly stuck out. They were rather flashy, no offense intended, My Lord.”

“None taken”, Gabriel returned. As someone who was born and raised away from Skystead, Gabriel knew how ostentatious people from Skystead could be, and that was including himself as a sort-of permanent resident there. Flashy was probably the nicest descriptor the bartender could have used.

“There’s that red-haired woman who asked if one of the mines are up for sale. Odd little thing, she was”, the old tavern keeper butted in as she walked into the tavern. “She came a week-ish before the dragon started attacking and disappeared the same day.”

“Red-haired woman?” Gabriel felt himself flashing back to two years ago. “Did— did she have fiery red hair, like her hair was on fire?”

“Quite. She was hard to miss, wearing all black like she just came back from a funeral”, the old tavern keeper replied. “She wore snake-themed accessories; belt and brooch, I think. She was rather stuck out.”

_ Crowley _ , Gabriel thought with a sense of dread.

Two years ago, Gabriel was happily in a relationship with Crowley. They met at one of the feasts the Queen threw in Gabriel’s honor, after he slayed the Ice Giant that terrorized the Black Hallows up north. Crowley had been a courtesan, back then, but Gabriel didn’t care. All he cared was about Crowley and his wicked smile and his unique perspective of the world.

For several months Gabriel was with Crowley, Skystead was plagued by rumors of a shapeshifter attacking the nobles. When Gabriel found out that Crowley was a shapeshifter… let’s just say that he didn’t take it well. Crowley had stabbed him, before escaping Skystead, leaving Gabriel to bleed on the floor and heartbroken.

If he was right, if Crowley was behind all of these attacks, then Gabriel didn’t know what to do. 

Head spinning, Gabriel thanked the tavern keeper and bartender, before walking out of the tavern. He needed some fresh air… and some time to think. Why did Crowley attack Frostford? What was he hoping to gain? Frostford was one of the biggest iron supplier for Eden. Did he want to cripple Eden by attacking Frostford? Did he want to throw Eden into chaos?

No. The Crowley Gabriel knew was not that kind of person. His actions might be misguided, but he cared for the peasants a whole lot. The last thing he’d ever want was to cause a civil war to break.

But then again, did he ever know the real Crowley?

Gabriel put his face in his hands and groaned.

Then, he heard clanging noises coming from the watchtower. As he looked up, he saw people panicking as they rushed to get out of the streets.

“Dragon!” one of them cried out.

“Run! Save yourself!” the other shouted.

Large shadow covered the sky and when Gabriel turned, he saw a humongous dragon landed heavily on the top of the town wall. Gabriel’s companions rushed towards him, brandishing their weapons, but Gabriel was not paying attention to them.

No, rather, he was paying attention to the dragon before him. It was black, just like the witch said, but its scales seemed to shift from black to dark blood red under the sun. Dark smoke billowed out of its mouth. It eyed Gabriel with its yellow slitted eyes, and Gabriel swore he could see something like recognition in those eyes.

“C-Crowley…?” Gabriel managed to stutter out.

If this was really Crowley, then he hoped that he could reason with him.

“Charge!!!” one of Gabriel’s companions shouted. 

“No— Wait!” Gabriel uselessly tried to stop the mercenaries, but it was too late. A bolt of magic landed on the dragon’s eye. The dragon roared out in pain, and then roared at them.

Gabriel unsheathed his blade, if only for self defense reasons. He couldn’t let his companions be killed — they were rather expensive, damn it — and he couldn’t let his companions injure Crowley further. Perhaps it was true that he still held a torch for Crowley, even after all these years — it was hard to forget someone like Crowley, because  _ no one _ was quite like Crowley.

The dragon aimed its clawed hand towards Gabriel and his companions. Gabriel managed to duck, but one of his companions — the dwarven knight — was too slow and he flew several meters into the air when the dragon whacked him away, before landing on someone’s roof. The archers aimed her arrows at the dragon’s left wing and managed to pierce it. The dragon howled out in pain, and Gabriel could feel his heart clench at the noise.

An idea popped up in his mind, and, using the distraction his companions were providing, he sheathed his blade back in and scaled the wall. The dragon was still not paying attention to him, too busy blocking the blasts of magic one of his companions was unleashing. So Gabriel continued climbing up the dragon’s back, before finally reaching its head.

“Crowley, listen to me”, he said to the dragon, hoping that the dragon was really Crowley and that he could be reasoned with. Otherwise, he might look absolutely stupid. “We can discuss it like— AAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!”

The dragon beat its mighty wings and took off to the sky, taking Gabriel with it, and Gabriel had to clutch at one of the ridges on its head so that he wouldn’t free-fall several meters to the ground. Good thing, his gauntlet had a good grip on it. Bad thing, the ridge was incredibly sharp and it began to cut into the gauntlet. Soon, it would cut into Gabriel’s palm, and then he wouldn’t be able to grip it without hurting himself.

Before he could contemplate anything further, the dragon did a barrel roll, and Gabriel was slowly beginning to lose his grip. Then, in near slow motion, he watched as the ridge cut into his palm, and he finally lost his grip on the dragon’s head. He fell down, and down, and down.

When he landed, he couldn’t feel any pain. Or perhaps he felt too much pain that his brain failed to comprehend.

Darkness claimed him, and he didn’t remember anything else after that.


	2. Chapter 2

The first thing that Gabriel felt when he came to his senses was how cold he was. When he took a deep, deep breath, he could feel sharp cold air biting into his lungs. He shivered, and felt his teeth clacking together.

He was still alive, somehow. That was always good to know, in his line of work.

Gabriel opened his eyes and saw darkness surrounding him. He was in a cave of some sort, it seemed. Perhaps somewhere in the mountains by the town. When he tried to move, he heard clanking noises. Only then he realized that he was in chains.

He tried to stare at the manacles around his wrist, but it was hard with the lack of light. They felt heavy, so they had to be thick — Gabriel could imagine thick iron manacles encircling his wrists. The chain, thankfully, was loose enough to allow him some movements, but he assumed he wouldn’t be able to get too far from the cave wall he was chained to.

They were cold, though, chill biting into his skin — which reminded Gabriel about the cold. He had been wearing his winter armor with bear fur lining and cape, so he should be sufficiently insulated. Except someone had stripped him of his armor.

His armor-less state confirmed his theory that the dragon was, indeed, a shapeshifter, because as far as Gabriel he knew, dragons couldn’t take off a knight’s armor. Not without an opposable thumb. He banished the ridiculous mental image of a dragon attempting to strip him off of his armor, before considering what his plan was next. He needed to get warm, first of all, or his chance of survival would be desperately low.

Before he could contemplate further, the tunnel in front of him was illuminated by… something. It appeared closer and closer, until Gabriel could see a humanoid figure holding their glowing palm up standing in front of him.

A mage. And not just any mage, he was a temple mage. A maestro, judging from the blue and white ornate robe he wore. He was rather plump with the whitest hair Gabriel had ever seen, and his blue eyes seemed to glow in the low light.

“H-hello”, the maestro greeted, his voice soft. “My name is Aziraphale. It’s good to see you awake.”

Ah, the Frostford’s maestro that the dragon whisked away. Gabriel was surprised that he was still alive, two months after being kidnapped, although Gabriel still couldn’t rule out the possibility that he was Crowley in disguise. His scar twinged with pain at the thought. He eyed the supposed maestro warily.

“Maestro? Can you let me go?” Gabriel asked.

“I- I can’t. I’m sorry, but…” the maestro stuttered out. “C-Crowley said—”

“Crowley? You know Crowley?” Gabriel felt his heart racing. So it was true, Crowley was behind the attacks on Frostford.

“I- I’m not allowed to s-say anything”, the maestro said, before placing a bowl he carried on the ground in front of Gabriel. “H-here. It’s food. Eat it before it’s cold, it’ll warm you up.”

Then, with that, Maestro Aziraphale made a move as if he was about to walk away.

“W-wait!” Gabriel called out to him. His head was spinning. Why was the maestro working together with Crowley? What on Eden was happening here?

But the maestro walked away, leaving him alone in the darkness.

Gingerly, he took the bowl the maestro left for him. It was still warm, and it smelled rather good actually. It was a soup of some sort, with meat chunks floating in it. As he ate, Gabriel wondered if the maestro cooked it.

He didn’t know why Maestro Aziraphale was working with Crowley. From what he heard from Mayor Sandalphon, he was well-loved by the townsfolk. Why did he betray them and let the dragon attack his own hometown? Gabriel could sense that something sinister was at play, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

And then there was Crowley.

Last time Gabriel saw Crowley, he only managed to shapeshift from one red-haired person into another red-haired person — hence, why he had assumed it was Crowley when he heard the tavern keeper talk about a woman with red hair like fire. Yet now it seemed he had gained control of his power and managed to shapeshift into a gigantic beast.

What had actually happened in his town?

Hours passed, and Gabriel tried so hard not to doze off. He knew that if he did it, the cold would claim him. However, it was hard to keep his mind alert when he had nothing else to do. He had tested the bounds of his chains and found that he could only walk around a meter or two from the cave wall. It wasn’t much, but it was something.

So he did some stretching to keep his body warm.

As he did some exercise, his mind wandered. He tried to make sense of his actions, but it only left him with more questions. Why did Crowley go from a nuisance to nobles, into an evil being who terrorized a small town? What had happened within the two years since they last saw each other?

He put the questions away from his mind for the time being, and focused his attention more to find a way to escape this situation.

So he stayed, and planned.

Next time Maestro Aziraphale came, Gabriel was ready. As soon as the maestro came close to put a bowl of porridge in front of him, Gabriel tackled him and twisted the chain around his neck.

“Let me go now, maestro”, Gabriel hissed in his ears. “I don’t like what I’m about to do to you, and so would you.”

The maestro wheezed and struggled in his grip.

“I- I- I can’t!” Maestro Aziraphale stuttered out. “P-p-please let me go. I- I’ll give you your armor back!”

Gabriel tightened the chain around the maestro’s neck, before releasing him. He couldn’t, in good conscience, to hurt the maestro, even if said maestro was working together with an evil shapeshifter. Curse him and his conscience. The maestro coughed and wheezed as he tried to stand up.

“I’m really sorry, but I really can’t let you go”, the maestro said. “Crowley said you’re not to be trusted.”

“ _ I’m _ the one who can’t be trusted?  _ He’s  _ the one who is an evil shapeshifter!” Gabriel retorted. “Maestro, please. You have to listen to me.”

“I know you two have a… history”, the maestro said hesitantly. “I may not know what, but—”

“He stabbed me”, Gabriel interrupted the maestro. “I trusted him and he stabbed me,  _ literally _ . I even have a scar to prove it. You want to know our history? That’s our history.”

“But it doesn’t change the fact that he just wants to help the town!” the maestro shouted, something like stubbornness crossed his face.

“Helping the town? By  _ attacking  _ it?” Gabriel countered.

“You d-don’t know what’s happening! A-and I’m not supposed to tell you”, the maestro said. “I’m sorry, I have to go. I’ll return your armor soon.”

“No, wait!” Gabriel called out.

But the maestro already walked away from him, leaving him in the darkness once again.

—

True to his word, the maestro brought Gabriel his armor back. He even assisted Gabriel to wear it, since he still refused to release the chains. Gabriel was simply grateful that he finally could feel his fingers again — the cold had been  _ horrible _ . 

In the dark, he didn’t know whether it was day or night; the only thing that indicated the passage of time was the maestro bringing him food. The food had been bland — they always had been a combination between meat and broth, with very little to no seasoning — but Gabriel gulped them down nonetheless. It wasn’t like he could choose to eat something different. That the maestro even thought to feed him should make him grateful.

It was frustrating to stay alone in the dark, only with his own thoughts to keep him company. The maestro never stayed long, preferring to stay out of Gabriel’s reach when he put in a bowl of food before leaving right away. He was ignoring any and all of Gabriel’s attempt to talk to him and it was… frustrating. Absolutely frustrating.

He still couldn’t wrap his head around the idea of anyone willingly helping an evil shapeshifter like Crowley, but Aziraphale seemed meek and naive. It wouldn’t be too far-fetched if Crowley had been deceiving him, making him believe that it was all for the good of the town.

Yet he didn’t understand why Crowley was keeping the maestro sequestered in this cave. Wouldn’t it be better for him to have his agent to stay in the town? A well-known and well-loved person like the maestro would easily turn the townsfolk to his side, and yet the maestro stayed hidden in this cave.

The more Gabriel thought about it, the more he couldn’t make any sense of it all, and it was making his head hurt.

After the fifth time the maestro came to bring him food, Gabriel could hear a shriek echoing in the cave, and the cave shook mightily as if something huge had landed. It took Gabriel a very brief moment to understand its meaning.

The dragon had arrived, which meant Crowley probably would come to check him soon.

There was something like fear growing inside his chest — the thought that he was about to meet with Crowley again after all these years made him shiver. He was completely at Crowley’s mercy now, and he wasn’t looking forward to it.

When Crowley sauntered into the cave, carrying a torch in one hand, Gabriel felt his heart beating faster.

Crowley was still the same as he remembered.

Though his fiery red hair was shorter now, about shoulder length. His golden eyes seemed to glow in the dark, and there was a small smirk playing on his face.

“I gotta admit”, Crowley drawled. “You look so good in chains, that it made me regret we’ve never done it back then.”

“Maybe if you come closer, we can discuss about it”, Gabriel snarked back, tilting his head to the side.

Crowley let out a small chuckle. “You know, there are times where I actually miss you.”

“Maybe if you didn’t stab me, you wouldn’t be missing me. You know, because we would still be together”, Gabriel returned.

“If I didn’t stab you, you would’ve killed me”, Crowley said flatly. Gabriel stiffened, and a smirk curled on Crowley’s lips. “Am I wrong, Beast-Slayer?”

There were times where Gabriel would entertain the thought of what would happen if Crowley didn’t try to kill him. Perhaps they would live happily together, and perhaps they would pretend that Crowley was not, in fact, a shapeshifter. Perhaps Gabriel would kill him in the end — that was his job, after all, slaying beasts and monsters.

“We could’ve… talked”, Gabriel retorted.

“Talk?  _ Talk?! _ ” Crowley laughed mirthlessly. “Did you have a talk with that Ice Giant before you slayed it? Did you have a nice chat with that dragon who lives on a hill at Dovesport? Oh wait, you didn’t. You went straight for a kill.”

“That’s different”, Gabriel said with a frown. “They were a beast, a monster.”

“And am I not a monster?” Crowley asked in return. “I heard what you said about the evil shapeshifter who terrorized the poor, poor nobles. You said it  _ right in front of me _ . An abomination, evil and undeserving of mercy.”

“I don’t understand you. I’m trying to make sense of your action beyond simply being an evil shapeshifter”, Gabriel said.

“I don’t  _ need _ to be understood”, Crowley hissed. “I just want to be  _ accepted _ . For what I am, for who I am.”

At that, Gabriel felt a stab somewhere in his conscience. He had done this, he thought. He had hurt Crowley, someone who he used to love (still loved, though he would never admit it out loud).

Silence hung uncomfortably between them, and Gabriel tried to look at Crowley’s features. It was hard, seeing in the dark, but he thought he could see something like pain etched on Crowley’s face.

“If you want to be accepted, why did you attack Frostford?” Gabriel returned. “You’ll only be a monster to them, a beast to be slayed. They already think that way about you.”

“Whatever”, Crowley said with a low growl — it sounded too draconic for Gabriel’s comfort. “Now that I have you captured, nothing will stand in my way.”

Something popped inside Gabriel’s head.

“You  _ lured _ me here”, he said. “You wanted me to come to Frostford, so you can capture me.”

“Uh,  _ duh! _ ” Crowley rolled his eyes. “You’re the best beast slayer in the land. If you fail to get rid of Frostford’s dragon problem, people will stay the hell away.”

Now Gabriel felt really, really stupid that he thought he could reason with Crowley. No, this was his plan all along. Now that he was out of the picture, Crowley could do whatever he wanted.

He just hoped that innocent people wouldn’t die because of his stupidity.

“What are you planning? Why are you attacking Fostford?” Gabriel asked.

“Yeah, not answering that”, Crowley not-quite-answered. “Anyway, fancy talking with you. Bye.”

“Crowley, wait!” Gabriel called out.

But Crowley didn’t wait. He left, leaving Gabriel alone with more questions than before.


End file.
